Series 'Signboards'
South Korean typological photography. Focused on Korean Shopping malls, especially colorful signboards on buildings.
The surface of the buildings keeps changing every day, every month, every year. After the pandemic, tenants, unable to pay the rent, should left. And then a new signboard is set for a new tenant. - or space left empty. It's not entirely because of the pandemic but makes it worse. If I visit the place in the photograph again, I could recognize the change immediately. Some signboards have gone, some others are new.
Most Korean don’t like the building, which is covered with brightly colored cheapie Signboards because they believe that the Signboards remind them of the chaotic developing history of the Korean economy. The Korean government declared that it would take all possible measures to improve that as well. It is a specific feature of S.Korean society if the government focuses its attention on any field, the situation would change dramatically under the new legislation. It is easy to speculate that the signboards might be removed. I have to take a picture of them before it disappears.
At the beginning of this project, I agreed with our government and people. But I changed my mind.
On the face of it, these signboards are very chaotic. They are a symbol of fierce competition that Korean have been facing every day. The life of the South Koreans seems to be on the surface of the building. It is very colorful, complicated, noticeable. But if you always use bright colors, however, nobody will be conspicuous because there are already too many colors. The competition is getting tougher.
On the other hand, but I can feel some energy from the signboards, which means the desire of the owners of it. They want to get the attention of the people and to use more colors and lights for it. They express their desire to survive through them.
The desire made buildings beautiful, though people have never planned. While I worked on the project, I've been convincing that nobody has a right to tell these are chaotic and hate it because there is a life under the signboards.
I think this is beautiful.
